Frowned Paths
by SilentFly
Summary: Story follows the life of Leiah Galaviel, who arrives in Skyrim, finds her soul mate and makes her own destiny. Recently arrived to Skyrim, naive and young Leiah starts bonding with new people and various organizations. This is my first fan fiction and i'm eager to get feedback to improve further story. I made up this story for my dragonborn to make the game more interesting.
1. Chapter 1

Greeting, this is my first fan fiction based on the story I made up for my dragonborn to make the game more interesting for myself. As I told this story to a friend of mine he suggested me to write it down and publish it on this site. I have more chapters already written that still need some editing.

As for the story, there is two chapter long intro of how Leiah ended up in Skyrim. She will meet Serana, who will become her lover and second main character soon but there will be some other events before that, so please stay patient.

I'm eager to hear your feedback to improve my writing skills and consider your suggestions in further chapters.

Have a nice ride everyone.

* * *

Leiah was lounging in the natural hot spring that was being heated by complicated dwemer mechanics. She loved the way how architects had left the mechanics untouched when building this bathhouse. It was rare to be there all alone considering that it was the most luxurious bathhouse in Imperial City.

It was already night time when she and her Khajit friend Django had returned from an old Dwemer ruin, where she was studying the dwemer mechanics. Just like every archeologist, she was also fascinated about the mysterious culture.

Leiah and Django went way back. Leiah had found the Khajit when she was catching butterflies in the forest behind her house. It was early in the morning and the air was still cold from the heavy storm from last night.

* * *

She was trying to untangle her butterfly net from the branches, when she heard some noises coming from the bushes. Leiah picked up a club from her backpack and raised it before her. "Come out" she shouted with a slight tone of fear in her voice. Then she saw bushes being pushed aside and soaking wet Khajit was standing in front of her. She had never seen a Khajit that close before, only encounters she had with the cat-people were the times when she traveled to Whiterun with her mother. "Please..." was the only thing the Kahjit managed to say before he collapsed on the muddy ground.

Django saw someones face above him, his vision was blurry but he recognised the girl he met before, from her scent. "Hey, can you hear me" Leiah said softly. Django simply nodded and raised himself, leaning on the tree behind him.

It was young Khajit with black ad white fur. To Leiah he reminded a large kitten and she found him rather cute.

"Here, take it", Leiah reached him a bowl filled with water. "My name is Leiah" she said, "What's yours?". Django didn't know knew what to do, he had recently arrived to Skyrim and hadn't seen a nord up close either. "I'm Django... thanks..." he whispered.

"No problem, my mother had always taught me to help those in need" she said. "How did you end up here, in the woods anyway?" she asked.

Django told him the whole story of how he was on Khajit caravan with his uncle and was forgot behind, young nord was egearly listening how Django told her his story. Eversence Leiah had enjoyed his stories of tropical Elsweyr.

* * *

She was deep in her thoughts and lazily looking at the small flame coming out of her index finger that she had created using her magicka. She didn't have much knowledge of destruction magic but she knew some basics and she had always found looking at fire to be a relaxing way to gather her thoughts. She just couldn't figure out how this dwemer lexicon before her had activated ruins defence mechanisms.

Usually she was in the ruins alone or with some other scholars but she was lucky to have Django with her this time. When venturing around the ruins she found a cave opening inside of the wall. Curiosity got the better of her and she wanted to look inside the cave. It was dark and there weren't any other passages parting from the large cave.

"Hmm, it smells weird here, I don't think we should go further" the cat said. "C'mon, this ruin had been scouted by the legion who knows how many times, there isn't anything dangerous in there" she claimed. " Yes but you know my nose never lies" Django argued, " And that's what every Khajit in Tamriel says, still you guys are the biggest liars around" she said jokingly while slowly moving deeper into the cave, trying not to step into the water flowing through the cave.

On the other side they had found an obelisk. "I told you that there's something off about this place" Django said, he he didn't expect any answers because he knew that Leiah was too curious to listen to him after going this far. The obelisk had an odd looking lexicon on top of it. It seemed to be made out of silver and had blue carvings in it.

Leiah reached out her hand to touch it and the moment she slid her fingers over the lexicon it started to emit weak blue light. She immediately pulled back her arm from surprise and after collecting herself a little she picked up the lexicon.

"I think we should just leave it and move on", Django whispered, checking their surroundings. "Little kitty is scared" she said mockingly. "Maybe it's time for you to admit that you're hanging around with me in the ruins, just to watch my ass, instead of my back" Leiah laughed, but Django hushed and pulled her to the corner. They heard some metal grinding noise coming towards them.

After few tense seconds a dwemer spider showed up. "What is this thing", Django hissed. "It's a dwemer spider, they were left by the..." She couldn't finish her sentence when she saw Django getting ready to attack. When the spider turned around to leave, Django sprinted out of their hiding place and cut off it's legs with his steel katana.

"Why did you break it" Leiah screamed "Maybe we would have been able to find something interesting from it". But there were more of the spider workers moving to them, Django pushed Leiah back to the hiding spot and pulled out his second katana. He ran toward the spiders and started slicing them up like a whirlwind.

When Leiah didn't hear any more fighting, she peeked out from her cover just to see heavily breathing Django, surrounded by the scrap metal, he put katanas onto his back.

Leiah always felt useless when Django was fighting. After she was sent to Cyrodil university she became, what's called a 'city girl'. She was unfamiliar to combat and only weapon she had ever used was bow that her mother taught her to use. She enjoyed using a bow, but only for practise and target shooting for fun.

"You're hurt" she gasped, walking to Django. "Yes, bastards scratched my leg, but I can still move" Khajit claimed. After few more encounters they finally reached the main entrance of that ruin.

The sun was setting behind the lake when they exited the ruin and they could feel the cold wind of night approaching. "Let's not do this again" Django laughed while resting on the rock. "Agreed" Leiah said, lying on the grass.

"It must be getting light soon" Leiah thought, "Better get some sleep before I go to Nilfheim with this lexicon" she said to herself while drying off. She put on her underwear and shorts, buttoned her long sleeved green shirt and took her cloak from the hanger.

* * *

Next morning Leiah was woken by someone knocking on her door. She dragged herself out of the bed and put on her night dress, "I'm coming" she shouted.

When she opened the door, there were 5 imperial guards standing in front of her. "Leiah Galaviel, you are accused in murder of Silvia Gerrad and must come with us at once" guards pushed her into her house and closed the door behind them. "Silvia is dead, but... how?" she felt shocked from the sudden news of her friends death. "You will discuss it with captain but for now you have 5 minutes to get dresses and come with us" guard pouted, lookind at the interiors.

Leiah didn't know what to feel. Besides Django, Silvia was her only friend in Imperial City. They met on their first day in university, Leiah didn't enjoy communicating with people in general and prefered reading books or spending time alone in the ruins. All things aside, she quickly took liking to the Bosmer girl.

She felt warm tears flowing down her cheeks as she put on her scholar uniform. She wiped her tears and opened the door. "I'm ready" she told to the guards and they left her house.


	2. Chapter 2

„Fact is that she was last seen at noon, exiting the city and found dead with multiple stab wounds, early in the morning near the ruins and you two were the only ones in there yesterday".

Leiah had already told him everything and that she wouldn't never kill her friend. But the captain was persistent. „Maybe we could work out a deal" he had stood up from the chair and walked besides Leiah, who was sitting on the other side of the interrogation chamber. He caressed her cheek and pushed black hair away from her face „You confess everything and become my prisoner. Instead of being sent to chopping block i will take good care of you" He held her chin with her fingers and turned her head towards him.

„Get your finger off me, you bastard" she spit into the captains face. „Very well" he said, „Let's see if you will cooperate with us after starving for few days in the cell".

He whiped his face clean and gestured the other guard to take her away. Leiah was dragged through the hallway and pushed to her cell. Door closed behind her as she curled up on the haystack in the corner.

She was thinking of the last moment she had spent with Silvia. It was the night before she left to investigate Dwemer ruin. They were drinking wine and were discussing about the book she had given to Leiah.

"Take care of that sweet arse of yours and see you at class" were Silvias last words to her, before giving her a kiss on the cheek. Leiah giggled as she waved goodbye to her. "If I only knew that this was going to be the last moment with her... I would have told her something much more..." she burst crying. Even though her mother disappeared when she was 9, death was a stranger to her.

"Talos bless you Silvia" she whispered as her thoughts trailed off to Django. She hadn't heard of the cat sence they parted after entering the city.

Leiah was sure that Django would get into a fight with the guards if they were to blame him in murder that he hadn't performed. Her friend wasn't fond of local enforcements, he has always had lots of trouble with guards in the past.

It was midnight, when Leiah was waken by a heavy thump. She went to her cell door and looked around the hallway as her Khajit friend appeared from shadows.

"Django! What are you doing here"

"Getting you out of here" he said quietly, wiping off dead guards blood from his elven dagger.

"How come you weren't caught?"

"I went to drink with a friend and passed out in the alleyway" he was searching the guard for the cell key. "When I was walking home in the morning, I saw guards breaking my door. I knew it had to be something bad if they are breaking in to houses so I left to your place. That's where I heard of what happened with you" he explained.

When she got out of her cell, Leiah leaped to hug her cat friend. "They accused me in murdering Silvia" she whispered.

"That is..."

"Absurd... I know, someone is trying to frame me" she said with tears filling her eyes again.

"Let's get going, we must get away from the city".

"I must collect my stuff from home" Leiah said as they were sneaking out from the hallway and climbing the stairs out from the prison.

"No" Django hissed "We can't risk it, other guards will be found soon and if we were innocent before, we sure aren't anymore".

* * *

Leiah didn't live far from the guards barracks. After some begging Django was willing to collect Leiahs stuff from her house.

She threw everything that was valuable to her into knapsack. Took the necklace that Silvia had given to her on her last birthday and equiped her traveling gear. Shorts, body straps, a belt with some pouches and a tank top. Leiah loved this outfit, it was light and comfortable and also displayed her petite curves that made a lot of men drool, when walking around the city.

She put o her cloak and pulled down the hood to cover her face. "I'm ready she said, placing the newly found Dwemer lexicon into her knapsack.

"Alright, lets go" Django said "And give this bag to me, it looks heavy"

They had gotten out of the city without any trouble. They spent lot of time sneaking around the woods when they were still kids and living in Skyrim, it wasnt much of a chalenge for them to sneak past sleeping city guards.

* * *

It was already evening of the next day. Most of their trip passed in silence but they were now in Bruma and closing to the borders of Skyrim.

"We have been walking sence we got out of the city" Django stopped. "There seems to be an abandoned camp site over there, let's set up a fire there.

Leiah simply nodded. She was exhausted from their journey and still mourning her Silvia.

Django was setting up the campfire as Leiah sat on the rock near it and curled up in a ball, covering her face with hands. She heard Django breaking some branches for the fire before she slowly fell into her slumber.

Django had succesfuly lit the fire and looked and her friend sitting on a rock. He took his cloak and put it on her. He sat down next to her and curled up just like Leiah had done.

He was looking at the fire when he heard it... his sharp cat ears let him hear even the slightest movement around them and there were multiple footsteps closing to them. He could also hear from which direction their guests were coming. He counted at least 6 of them, too many to fight them head on.

Then he heard someone starting to sprint to the from behind. He pulled out his katana and turned around just as his attacker had reached him. His katana cut right through the mid-section of what seemed to be a bandit.

The blood spilled on Leiahs cheek woke her up and she heard the battle roars of their foes friends who were now rushing at them.

Django grabbed her hand and they started to run.

"Keep running, I'll try to eliminate some of them" Django screamed to leiah as he let go of her arm. Leiah did as she was told.

She kept running without thinking of anything. Everything had happened so fast that she didn't even know why she was running but she just knew that she had to.

She had run atleast for twenty minutes when she stopped hearing her followers. She stopped to catch breath and turned around to make sure there wasn't anyone behing her, when she suddenly felt sharp paint in the back of her head.

She fell on her back to see a large figure above her. Her vision was blurry from the hit and she couldn't recognise her attacker.

"Take her to others" a deep male sound shouted.


	3. Chapter 3

When Leiah opened her eyes, her vision was still blurry. But it didn't take much effort to recognise mountains and woods of Skyrim.

"Home" she whispered to herself. Last time she was in Skyrim was five years ago. She was sent to Cyrodil to study, years after her mothers disappearance. Her mother was a very respected person in Whiterun and also a thane. After she disappeared, their house carl Lydia took care of her and their house. But then things got complicated for her. Lydia was being acused of her mothers murder, she decided to send Leiah to Imperial City and went into hiding herself. Months after she arrived to Imperial City Django followed her to Cyrodil.

"Hey you, finally awake" Leiah heard someone addressing her "You were trying to cross the border, and walked right into the imperial ambush. Same thing with us... and that thief over there".

"Damn you Stormcloaks. Skyrim was fine until you came along. Empire was nice and lazy." Leiah felt chilly, she noticed that she was wearing some old rags and had her hands bound.

"If they hadn't been looking for you, I could've stolen that horse and be halfway to Hammerfell." the man in the rags said. Stormcloak soldier in front of her was wearing his uniform and the man on her left had a fur coat, his mouth was also covered with a piece of cloth.

The two men kept arguing till the guard, riding the carriage shut them up. They were closing a small, well defended village.

"Helgen" she thought. As they passed the gates, Leiah saw two men sitting on horses. One Imperial who seemed to be some high ranking officer and Thalmor.

The carriage stopped near a chopping block, she felt a glimpse in her throat. Prisoners were lined up and asked for personal information from a legate who was writing everything down.

When they asked the horse thief for his name he tried to bail himself out and made a run for it. He didn't get far before he was hit with an arrow.

"Next prisoner!" the legate shouted.

It was now Leiahs turn. She decided not to make the same mistake that thief did.

"Name, age and birthplace. Nord!" legate demanded.

Leiah looked up, "Leiah Galaviel, I'm nineteen and I was born in Falkreath hold, Skyrim.

"At least you will die in home" the man next to the legate said as she started to walk towards the chopping block, where she already saw someone being exicuted. And the she felt scared. Leiah was brave, just like her mother taught her to be but she hadn't faced death like that either.

Another man was sent to the chopping block. "By the names of the eight divines..." the priest started, but her speech was cut short by the man who was already bent down to the block. "For the love of Talos, shut up and let's get this over with" as he spoke the headsman let his axe fall, Leiah closed her eyes and when she opened them again there was a head in the basket and his body was being pulled aside.

"Fearless in death, as he was in life" the man next to her said.

"Next prisoner, Nord in the rags". Leiah knew that she was called, even tough her heart was filled with fear at that moment she carried herself with grace. "I'm sorry mother" she thought. She was pushed down and her chin touched the cold stone. She closed her eyes and her heart was beating like it was about to rip itself out from her chest.

She prayed to Talos... and that's when a miracle happened. A black dragon came behind the mountains and landed on top of the guard tower. The headsman escaped and Leiah with hands bound was sent flying with the brute force of dragons shout.

She flew few meters away from the block. Seeing the dragon was still on the tower and directly looking at her, she got up and ran to the tower behind her.

"Was that really a dragon, bringer of the end times" a woman in Stormcloak uniform wondered.

Leiah saw that the man with fur coat was also there with few Stormcloack soldiers and he was addressed as 'Ulfric Stormcloak'. Leiah recognised that name imeadeatly, even when she lived in Cyrodil she still heard the news from Skyrim, about the Stormcloaks and civil war and she hated Ulfric for what he had done with her homeland. Even though his goal was noble, it was the wrong way he tried to achieve it and behind his noble goal he was just a power hungry tyrant.

"Pigs" she muttered and started to make her way up the stairs. She was about to reached the second floor when she saw a Stormcloack soldier getting buried under the stone rubble when dragons breath blasted through the stone walls. When the dragon flew away Leiah jumped out from the hole and landed on the second floor of the burned house next to the tower.

She made her way out of the building and tried to run over the road to the stone wall but just as she was in the middle of the road a dragon landed before her.

"Fuck!" she screamed as the dragon was about to breathe fire, Leiah rolled right and took cover behind a burning house. Her small size, quick thinking and athletic body gave her excellent agility. When dragon was gone, she exited her cover and ran through the streets and burning houses until she finally entered the keep to catch her breath and take some cover.

* * *

After few minutes of relaxing she started to untangle her hands. She tried to cut her binds wind a candle stick, it might have taken quite long if a Nord man wouldn't have entered the room. This man was as huge as a bear.

"I think you can't compare Nords to Imperials" she smirked.

"What" he asked.

"Nothing. Could you please be kind and cut my hands loose" Leiah asked

She didn't have to repeat herself as the man was eager to help her.

"Name is Ralof" the man said.

Leiah rubber her wrists and took Ralofs hand and shook it "Leiah, nice to meet you" she recognised him as the man who was next to her before she walked up to the chopping block.

"If we both want to get out from here alive you gonna need some armor, check that chest over there" Ralof pointed to the far corner as he searched the cupboards. Leiah found some fur armor, and imperial boots with gloves from the chest. She equipped her new armor on top of her rags and took two iron swords from the weapon rack.

Ralof noticed her equiping two swords but by the looks of the young girl next to her he also knew that she hadn't seen any combat. But he decided to keep his prejudice to himself when he saw Leiah furrowing at him.

"I'm ready" she said softly.

"I'm all alone now, I must be able to take care of myself" she thought. She knew that her comfortable life is over and she must accustom to the harsh environment of Skyrim. "Alright, let's do this" she said to herself when Ralof opened the door and they were to rush into two imperial soldiers.

Leiah entered first, there was an imperial soldier standing in the middle of the room, facing her with his back. She didn't have time to think, she swinged her sword at the mans back but he was quicker, he turned around and blocked Leiahs hit with his sword. Then he kicked her away, and just when he was about to counter attack Leiah, Ralof blocked his hit and hit the man right into the ribs with his war axe. After taking care of the second man he offered Leiah a hand and pulled her up.

"You'd better be more careful next time. Alright?"

"Y-yes" she answered, hands shacking from the shock.

They moved on to the next room where they heard two Imperials talking about the dragon. The first man was checking his helmet while other one was in far end of the room, searching the barrels.

"Listen to me now" Ralof whispered to Leiah as they stopped behind the corner.

"I'm going to choke the first guard then you sneak past and stab the other". Leiah simply nodded at the plan when they started to sneak closer.

Ralof took the first man into a deadly grip. Leiah saw his legs twitch as she walked past to the other guard. She readied her sword to stab him but just before she was about to hit him, Ralof cracked the first guards neck.

Instead of being stabbed to the back, Leiah pierced his chest when he had turned around. She pushed her iron sword deep inside the man, till the hilt touched his leather imperial armor. Blood was exiting the wound and flowing over her hands. Leiah simply stood there with her eyes wide open, staring at the dead soldier.

It was her first kill and much to her resentment it felt good. She didn't know why but it did, probably she didn't even want to know why.


	4. Chapter 4

**I've been writing these chapters for few days now and I'm really starting to enjoy writing this story.**

**I don't have anything particular planned for the story, so i guess I'm just going with the flow and try to make up something good.**

**And I must thank everyone who have bothered reading this far. I'm glad to see that at least someone is interested. :D**

* * *

Leiah and Ralof opened the door to the staircase when they heard fighting coming below. They ran down the stairs and saw two Stormcloak soldiers fighting three Imperial guards.

"I have a plan" Leiah screamed to Ralof over the battle cries.

Ralof saw her charging up magic with her both arms crossed over her chest, blue hue radiating from her palms. A blue wave ran over the room when she released her charge and suddenly the fighting stopped. Everyone in the room were looking around with surprised faces .That's when Leiah nodded to Ralof and he knew exactly what she meant.

Ralof picked up a battleaxe from dead brother in arms and rushed at the imperial mage, swiftly cutting of his head.

When others had realized what's going on it was too late. Balanced of the battle favored the Stormcloaks now and two other Stormcloak soldiers attacked the remaining Imperial while Ralof had already smashed his axe into the second guards legs.

"What the hell was that?" one of the Stormcloaks raised his voice.

"It's illusion magic" Leiah explained. "It just saved your lives".

"Calm down Yorthol. She's with me" Ralof tried to calm down his comrades. "It was this or death" he added.

"Alright, scavenge anything you find and get moving" the second soldier who remained silent so far sighted.

Leiah found a backpack with some lockpicks, which she used to open one of the cell that had some coins lying in it.

"Okay, move out" Ralof commanded. And everyone followed his command without any objections.

"He must be some high ranking officer" Leiah wondered.

"Hey... you did well back there" Ralof said to Leiah as four of them were moving into a cave that should lead out from the keep.

Leiah was glad to hear the compliment, she had finally been some real use in battle "Thanks" she whispered, so the other two wouldn't hear them.

It didn't took long before they heard some more fighting between the keep guards and refugees trying to escape. As their group reached a much larger section of the cave, Ralof and other two Stormcloak soldiers ran to aid their friends but Leiah got ditracted by something else.

"Finally a familiar weapon" she said with a small smile. She picked up a basic hunting bow from dead Stromcloak soldier and took a single arrow from his quiver. She placed the arrow on the bow and pulled it back. She saw two other Imperial archers on the other side of the cave.

She held her breath, aimed and then released the arrow. It flew through the air with a whistle, next thing she saw was one of the archers flying against the wall, arrow right through his chest.

"Bullseye" she said with s smirk on her face. She picked up another iron arrow, when she noticed that other archer was about to aim her. She threw on the ground and took cover behind the corner.

"Bastard is probably waiting for me to pop my head out" Leiah thought. But then she noticed a big group fighting each other, she steadied her arrow and held her breath.

Fighting was intense and it was difficult to have a proper sight at anyone particular. But she decided to risk it, in the end she didn't care if it was some Stormcloak getting in the way or some poor Imperial.

She took the shot and smiled at the outcome. The Stormcloak soldier that had a problem with her magic before, took an arrow to the knee. He fell on the ground in agony, when Leiah noticed another arrow finishing him off. She knew that it's her chance now. She took an arrow from the quiver and jumped out from her cover with her bow ready to release the arrow, the other archer didn't realise what was going to happen till she saw Leiah releasing her arrow from the other side of the room. Next moment he was lying on the ground with an arrow between his eyes. As Ralof finished off the last Imperial soldier, the fight was over.

"Gather the dead and I will scout ahead" Ralof ordered his men. "And Leiah come over here"

She jogged to Ralof, "He sure is a leader" she thought to herself with a smile, sence she listened to his order without any thinking of what had just happened.

"I saw you with a bow"

"Yeah, you saw right"

"And there are two dead Imperials here"

"Yes" Leiah said with an innocent look on her face.

Ralof gave her suspicious glare "You have a damn good eye" he said finally, poking a man with an arrow between the eyes, with his foot.

"My mother taught me few tricks, yes" she said with a blush on her face from the compliment.

"Anyway, you heard me. Let's scout ahead"

They found a small spring flowing through the narrow cave. They followed it till it disappeared under some rocks. They followed a path to the right and found another larger section of the cave.

"Eww, giant spiders" Leiah remarked with annoying look on her face. She still remembered them, venturing around the woods, when she still lived in Skyrim.

"Bah they're nothing" Ralof said with a wry grin "I kill them for breakfast"

"What really... oh, sorry... you mean morning practice, I'm sure."

"Who knows" Ralof shouted already rushing towards the three spiders in the middle of the room. Leiah stayed back and watched how he smashed his giant battleaxe into the first spider that was instantly thrown against the cave wall with green goo everywhere.

That's when she noticed to larger spiders ascending from the ceiling. She took the bow from her back and shot through the net that the first spider used to ascend. As the first spider fell on his back, Leiah had already drawn another arrow and shot it right at the other spiders mandibles. Arrow pierced it's head or whatever it had, from the inside and it fell dead on the ground.

When Ralof swung his axe at the last spiders belly that was on it's back, he saw Leiah collecting some green liquid from the spiders.

"What are you doing" he asked, "I thought you despise them".

"I'm collecting frostbite poison" Leiah explained, "It might come handy sence I'm good with bows.

Ralof tried to clean his axe with some plant leaf he found, while Leiah had finished with her poison gathering.

"Nice job with the spiders she said" patting him on the shoulder and wiping her

hand clean.

"Uhh... thanks" Ralof muttered as he went red from the face, without noticing what was really going on. Leiah passed him with a wry grin and took the lead.

Ralof was now following her, when she took cover behind a rock and hussed him.

"A bear right in front of the exit" she said.

"No way we could sneak past, maybe you could demonstrate some more archery skills of yours"

Ralof suggested.

It was totally fine by Leiah as she readied her arrow. First arrow hit it's rear leg, making it impossible to move for the bear, who had woken up from it's slumber and roared angrily. It didn't even manage to look around when another arrow hit it's neck. Leiah and Ralof aproached the bear as it was bleeding out.

"That sure was a weak bear" he smirked.

"It sure was" Leiah said playfully "I'm sure that if you had fought it, it would've been an honorable opponent" she added.


	5. Chapter 5

**I'm glad of those few, who have already** **read my last four chapters. As this one took far more time than i expected, I wont be releasing new chapters as often as i planed. But i will try to upload at least two or three chapters a week. Enjoy!**

* * *

"Wow, I never thought we'd make it out from there" Leiah sighted as she sat down under a tree.

"Stay put, it's not over yet" Ralof pointed on the black dragon flying north.

They stayed hidden till the dragon was out of their sight. Ralof stood up and stretched.

"I guess this is it" he said "I must return to Windhelm and report of what happened here. What about you"

"Not sure yet. I used to live in Skyrim when I was young, maybe I'll find someone familiar in Whiterun" Leiah shrugged.

"You fought well and I'm sure you can handle yourself. Talos guide you". They shook hands and then he started walking down the hill.

Even though she didn't tolerate Stormcloaks, Ralof seemed like a decent guy. Sun was shining bright and warm spring wind rustled the grass. She sat down and closed her eyes. Finally she had time to think about everything that had happened.

She didn't remember much of what happened to Django from last night. She was tiered and was barley able to think.

"I hope you are doing well". She hopped that Django would show up in Whiterun if he's still alive. He had to be. As she sat there, her eyes closed and she fell a sleep.

* * *

"Idiots" Django muttered. He was badly wounded and was barley making any progress towards Skyrim. But he knew there isn't much left to go. He was about to reach the top of the mountain which marked the border of Skyrim.

Django knew that if Leiah got away, she would seek help in Whiterun. And he had to get there fast. The bandits that had attacked them, weren't there by an accident. They were thugs that were hired by Thalmor. He had no idea why but he was sure that together with Leiah they could figure it out.

But finding her was his priority. If they had tracked them so far from Imperial City, they would also go to Skyrim for her. He had reached the top and looked down to the valley. It was covered with mist " Prff, I hate cold weather" he snapped to himself. After a small break and patching his wound, he picked up Leiahs knapscack and started walking down the mountain.

* * *

Leiah was waken by some noises coming from the bushes. She slowly reached for her bow and stood up. She drew the arrow and shot it in the bush.

Two wolves ran out, one of them turned around and revealed it's teeth. Leiah shot another arrow and pierced the wolfs chest. When the other wolf who noticed what had happened behind him, he turned around and started slowly moving up to Leiah, who had already readied an new arrow. She was waiting to see if the wolf is willing to leave her alone but it did the opposite. The wolf rushed to Leiah who released the arrow just when the wolf jumped at her.

She spit out some hair and pushed off the dead wolf. With her heart racing she picked up the backpack with some gold and lockpicks and started going down the same way Ralof did few hours before.

Riverwood hadn't changed at all, only the inhabitants have gotten older. She recognized Hadvar, the blacksmith who used to be friends with her mother. But no one seemed to remember her.

"Hey you there" a Wood elf called her behind the house as she was walking by. "You seem to be new here, I need to ask you a favor" he explained when Leiah had approached him.

I'm sorry but who are you and what you need" she asked the Wood elf.

"Apologies my lady, my name is Faendal and I need you to deliver this message and say it's from Sven"

"Is this some kind of joke" she asked "I just got to the village and I'm already hired as a courier. What kind of letter is this anyway?"

"I'm sorry. It's a personal matter but I guess I can explain sence you're a stranger here anyway. I kind of … have a... crush, on a certain person. But then there's Sven and we share the same interest..."

"Interest? I think you really need to reconsider your feelings before you ask anyone for this kind of favor. I'm leaving". She walked away with disappointed face. Even if she didn't have much experience in love and relationships she hated when people were playing with someones feelings like that.

She walked over the bridge and looked to her left. She knew this area and had always considered this as the most beautiful place in Skyrim. Over the bridge, she was moving up the hill and when she reached the top she could see Whiterun over the planes and fields. It still had the same charm just like back in her childhood. She was always exited when she visited the town with Lydia or her mother.

She was walking between the fields. But something felt wrong. People who usually were working on the fields were nervously looking at the group of fighters.

She couldn't believe her eyes when she saw a giant fighting three warriors, two women and a large man. She took her bow and picked an arrow from her quiver. She aimed at the giants leg and took the shot. Her arrow immobilized the target and a young woman ran to finish it off. Leiah had already a new arrow pulled back and was ready to take another shot but she decided to let the other woman finish it off but when the giant wiped her off her feet with his hand, she released the arrow and it hit the giants skull.

Leiah walked closer to two women. The woman who was hit was sitting next to a rock and the other one was kneeling over her to check her condition.

"Wha... what happened" the wounded woman asked.

"You were literally slain by the giant" the other woman chuckled "But you're alright, Vilkas can carry you back to Jorrvaskr, where you can rest"

"And you..." woman with warpaint on her face turned to Leiah, who was now standing next to them. "Thank you. It could have ended much..."

"Aela ?" Leiah recognized her childhood friend. She used to play with her around the market when she visited Whiterun.

Aela looked puzzled but when her face changed to surprised, Leiah wrapped her hands around her.

"Leiah, I can't believe this. I thought you're in Cyrodil." Aela said after a long embrace.

"I was but it's a long story"

"I'm sure you'd like to tell me everything about it. We have a lot of catching up to do" Aela cheered as she dragged her to the large man who stabbed the giant for one last time to make sure it's dead, blood spiting everywhere, including on Leiah and Aela who had just turned to him.

"Really Vilkas, that's how you gonna treat our guest" she said mockingly.

"Ahh, I noticed you. You did well, helping us to take down the giant"

"I just did what felt right" Leiah spoke shyly, looking at her feet.

"Cheer up now, I'm sure you'd make a fine shield-sister one day"

"Lets leave it to that. Pick up Njada and let's get moving" Aela said to Vilkas.

Vilkas was carrying Njada in front and two childhood friends were going behind them, as they walked up to Whiterun gates.

"Vilkas is strong but lacks some brains, just like him brother" Aela playfully whispered to Leiah but loud enough for Vilkas to hear her. Leiah managed to bring up a smile when he grunted but she was too tiered from the events and starving. Her last meal was when they were still walking towards Skyrim with Django.

* * *

They were now in Whiterun and nearing the marketplace. She remembered how they used to run between market stalls with Aela while her mother was shopping or at blacksmiths. Just like Riverwood, Whiterund hadn't changed a bit. She recognized some people who nodded at the three companions that were with her but there was lots of new faces too.

The group entered Jorrvaskr. "No wonder I could hear all this to outside" Leiah thought, looking at the bunch of Nords drinking mead and eating. She has never seen Jorrvaskr from the inside but they always heard the loud shouts from the inside when they were playing around with Aela.

They went down the stairs to the basement and turned left from the hallway.

"You look hungry" Aela said to her. "I'll bring some food. You go and relax".

Leiah entered the room that Aela pointed to her. There was a bow inside the weapon case which seemed to be Elven, on the other side of the room. She also saw animal heads on the wall as she sat onto the bed. "Aela had always dreamed about joining the companions" she thought. Her friend seemed to be doing well.

After a few moment Aela returned with a large plate full of food. It all looked delicious to starving Leiah, who took a bread to her left hand and grabbed a piece of meat on the fork with her other hand. She didn't care about her manners for now, besides she was together with her childhood friend who has seen her do things hundred time worse than this.

Aela saw that Leiah was hungry as wolf and let her eat in peace.

"I don't always relief my hunger but when I do, I hate myself after wards" Leiah chuckled as she laid back on Aelas bed.

"I bet you're tiered. You can sleep on the bed, I'll bring myself a sleeping roll"

"No, you don't have to..." Leiah started to argue but was interrupted by Aela.

"Please. It's been five years. Let me show some hospitality" Aela said softly.

Leiah was actually glad to sleep on a proper bed. "Thank you" she said with a smile.

"I'll be back soon" Aela said as she left the room again.

Leiah stood up and started to take of her fur armor. She put it on the hanger together with her hunters bow and stretched her shoulders. She sat down on the bed again to take of her boots and pushed them under the bed, when Aela returned with a sleeping roll, she noticed her ragged prisoner clothes.

"I think I have something more comfortable for you to sleep in than this" she said.

Leiah watched her as she took a short night dress from the drawer.

"Here, put this on" she handed Leiah the dress. Leiah accepted it with a grateful smile and turned around to undress herself.

"C,mon. It might have been five years but no need to be shy in front of your old friend" Aela chuckled with a wry grin on her face.

"Shut up!" Leiah giggled as she turned around, pulling the nightdress over her head. Aela unrolled the mattress and also undressed herself. Leiah was already in bed when Aela distinguished the candles and lay down on the sleeping roll next to the bed.

"Nice ass by the way" Aela said after a few seconds of silence.

"Jealous?" Leiah answered, Aela laughing at her comeback.

It didn't take long before she was in a deep sleep. Aela was still thinking of what brought her to Skyrim and Leiahs thoughtful eyes troubled her, she used to be much more cheerful.

"Welcome back" she whispered but Leiah was already snoring from the exhaustion.


	6. Chapter 6

**A quick warning, before you start reading this: I didn't rate this story _M_ for nothing.**

* * *

Bright light shined through a small window of Aelas room when Leiah opened her eyes. Besides all of her worries, she had a good night sleep. She looked at her fur armor hanging on the wall. It was a proof of what had happened in Helgen.

She lifter herself off the bed and her bare feet touched the cold stone floor. As she sat on the edge of the bed she thought back to what had happened yesterday. It seemed absurd to her that she's being suspected in Silvias murder but a dragon...

"Why me" she sighted, rubbing her eyes. The door opened and Aela stepped in.

"Morning princess" Aela said with a soft smile and threw her an apple.

"Morning" Leiah replied sleepily, taking a bite from the apple.

"I see that you had a rough day, telling of how you snored last night" She laughed.

"Yeah, you can say that again"

Aela took off her boots, sat on the bed next to Leiah and crossed her legs "So are you going to tell me what you're doing in Skyrim" she asked.

Leiah sat back, leaned on the wall and took a deep breath. "I had a... friend named Silvia, in Imperial City, we met in University and were quite close" Leiah told her, "One morning I had guards behind my door and they took me in, accusing me in Silvias murder" she continued.

"A set up?" Aela asked.

"Has to be. By then I couldn't even hurt a fly. Anyway, Django helped me to escape and after collecting some of my stuff, we sought refugee in Skyrim". She took another big bite from her apple. "We traveled the whole night till the next evening. It was getting dark and we found an abandoned campsite but then we were attacked by someone. Django told me to keep running and I left him behind". She felt tears filling her eyes again. "When I couldn't keep running anymore I stopped. That's when I was hit by someone and I passed out" She sobbed.

Aela sat closer to her and took Leiah, whose eyes were now filled with tears into her arms and gently stroked her black hair.

"Go on" she whispered.

Leiah continued her story as asked. "When I came conscious I was in a carriage with some Stormcloak prisoners. Imperials were taking us to Helgen"

"Helgen !" Aela gasped "but it was..."

"...hit by a dragon. Yes" Leiah finished her sentence. "It appeared just before headsman was going to execute me on the chopping block".

"Chopping block? They were going to execute you? Why?" Aela seemed puzzled now.

"I guess that is what happens to captured Stormcloaks" Leiah said, sweeping her tears away.

"So what happened then" Aela asked, eager to hear more.

"I escaped through the keep with some Stormcloaks. And that's how I ended up here"

"Wow, it must've been hard on you, losing your friend and being on the block like that"

"You can't imagine" Leiah said.

"Speaking of friends..." Aela said with a grin, when a familiar furry figure stepped in the room.

"DJANGO" Leiah gasped as she jumped off the bed to hug her lost Khajit.

"Agh, ouch. Careful with the wound" He said with a chuckle.

"Just can't keep yourself out of trouble" Leiah said as she was helping Django sit down on the chair.

"Your trouble" the Khajit snorted.

* * *

Leiah and Django were walking along the walls of Whiterun, it was afternoon and sun shined brightly. Away from the crowded marketplace Leiah stopped, leaned on the wall and looked into the distance. Django did the same and leaned next to her.

"You're thinking of whats to come" he mused. Facing the other way and looked in the sky.

"Yeah. But I have no idea what I'm supposed to do, It's like starting my life from a clean page all over again".

"Before you make any decisions I think you should know something". He sounded serious and got Leiahs full attention.

"The bandits that attacked us. They were hired to get you" Django said.

"W-why would they want to capture me" she asked now with a puzzled face.

"I don't know but I thought that maybe you do and we can figure out what's this all about".

Leiah stayed quiet and looked over to the mountains again. "I think I need a drink" she said. "And even though you don't need one you've certainly deserved one".

She didn't know what's this all about but she was safe for now and needed some distraction from all what has happened lately.

* * *

Leiah pulled on her leather boots, she had equiped her traveling gear which Django had brought along in her knapsack with rest of her belongings. She used to have lots of beautiful dresses back in Cyrodil but she adored her traveling outfit the most and it seemed to be the best choice for to nights outing anyway. Her brown shorts and black tank top left much of her body uncovered but she also had some body straps that covered most of her back and had some pouches on the sides.

She stepped out from Aelas room and entered the hallway in Jorrvaskr basement. Aela and Django were already waiting for her to get dressed.

"Damn Leiah. I thought you were going to put on some fancy dress but this is way better than I hoped for" Aelas gaze followed her movement as Leiah passe by her.

"Men will be all over you when we get to Bannered Mare" she said, as they were walking past the large dining table in the Jorrvaskr main hall.

"And I will be all over them" Django said with enthusiastic purr in his tone.

"Cmon, Django. We're not ten anymore. Leiah is a big girl now" Aela exclaimed mockingly.

"Oh do shut up... both of you" Leiah laughed as they left Jorrvaskr.

It was crowded in Bannered Mare, but people were having good time and the environment was relaxing, that's all Leiah cared about. Aela and Leiah ordered some wine, while Django strictly confined with ale. They sat down at the private table in the back of the inn.

"Tell me Leiah. When was the last time you got so wasted that someone had to carry you back home" Aela asked after Leiah took a big mouthful of wine right from the bottle.

"Besides that time when we found that mead barrel with you. It had only happened once, when Django insisted upon organizing my birthday and I let him do that"

"Our furry little friend sure has some problems with strong beverages" Aela snorted.

"You don't know half of it" Django stated. "And why haven't I heard anything of that mead barrel?"

"Was it really so embarrassing that you couldn't even share this story with Django" Aela asked.

"I vomited over half of Whiterun and you had carried me back to my manor near lake Ilinalta, where we slept in the shack" Leiah said, looking embarrassed.

"You should tell me more about this" Django said with amused look.

"Maybe after another bottle" Leiah said, as she poured her bottle into the tankard.

"Those were good times" ,Aela was looking bit more serious now. "I don't even remember when was the last time the three of us sat together like this"

"It's been too long" Diango sighted heavily. "I'll bring you that second bottle you mentioned and get some more for myself too" he said and left the table.

* * *

After two hours had passed, three friends were formidably drunk and Leiah had emptied far more than two bottles of Alto wine.

"I'll get some fresh air, you want to come along" she said, looking at her two friends who didn't look much more sober that she was.

I'll stay here for a while longer. You two can go" Django finished his ninth bottle of mead.

Aela and Leiah left the table and stumbled outside. It was quiet night but chilly. They walked to the city gate and climbed on the wall.

Beautiful, isn't it" Aela pointed on the moon.

"Mhrph" Leiah mumbled as she leaned on Aelas shoulder.

"Hey, don't pass out here. I might have to throw you down the wall if we're going back to Jorrvaskr" Aela chuckled.

Leiah sat straight and looked at Aela with sleepy eyes. The moon was reflecting from her green eyes and Leiah couldn't resist it. She kissed Aela on her lips.

"What. Was. That" Aela asked. After she broke the kiss after few seconds, feeling surprised from her friends sudden act. But she didn't care to wait for the answer, as she grabbed Leiahs shoulder and kissed her back full on her lips, softly caressing her cheek with other hand.

Their deep kiss was interrupted after few minutes by a guard who had noticed two drunk women sitting on the wall.

"Come down from there at once" he shouted at them.

"Wanna get back to Jorrvaskr" Aela asked with fire in her eyes.

Leiah nodded eagerly, grabbed her arm and started climbing down the wall. Aela gave the guard a sly grin when they walked past him and headed towards Jorrvaskr.

The moment Aela closed the door behind them, the two childhood friends lay down on the bed. After making out on the bed for a while, Aela ricked back on Leiah and started to take off her top, with Leiah following her lead, doing the same.

When both of them had bared their chests, Leiah sat up, wrapped her arms around Aela and pulled her close.

"I don't know whats wrong with me. I'm probably going to regret this in the morning" Leiah said as she looked at Aela, her warm breath caressing Aelas face.

"Then let's make sure you won't" Aela smiled and pushed Leiah back on the bed. Aela trailed her soft kisses down between Leiahs petite breasts. Leiah ricked back her head and was agitated of the warm lips that reached her navel. She grabbed her partners hand that had cupped her breast and the pleasure grew as Aelas lips had reached Leiahs tights.

Leiah let out a soft moan and pulled the blanket over Aela. They both knew that this night is far from over.


	7. Chapter 7

_Leiah was floating in soft, dark mist. She didn't know where or even why she's there. There was nothing she could grab or to support her, she was in the middle of nothingness and totally helpless. A strange bittersweet feeling started to grow in her chest. When she tried to concentrate on the new sensation, she couldn't suddenly feel her limbs. She was paralysed but wasn't exited nor scared of this feeling. Until the mist started to absorb her body. If Leiah wasn't scarred before, she sure was now. Her sight started to fade till she couldn't even see her chest. _

_The panic continued and sharp pain entered her head, when she felt someone grabbing her arm and pulling her away from the darkness._

* * *

Leiah felt cold sweat on her face when she opened her eyes. Her memory of the nightmare was slowly fading and only thing that linked her memory with the dark mist was her hangover. Besides the worst hangover of her life there was something else, something that made this morning much more different than any morning in her past years.

Aela had snuggled up on her side and was snoozing peacefully. All the memories started to flash in Leiahs mind and made her blush. Aelas body felt warm on her side and the bed seemed to be much more comfortable that it did last night. She wouldn't have left the bed unless she had to. It would have been much more awkward for her, if Aela had waken up next to her.

She gently pushed her aside not to wake her up and stood up from the bed. She picked up her clothes that were scattered around the bed and started putting them on. After dressing herself Leiah left Jorrvaskr. She had picked up a bucket from Aelas room and was heading to the well in the marketplace.

Air was cool and she didn't heard any birds. It had to be early because there was no one around except a guard who slept on a bench under Gildengreen. When she walked down the stairs to the market she saw thick fog covering her surroundings. She leaned over the well, hooked her bucket and threw it down.

She looked up to the sky while she waited the bucked to drown and fill with water. Clouds were slowly drifting west and there was no sun shining through the clouds. After a few second she pulled up the bucket and placed it on the edge of the well. She took some water with her hands and splashed it into her face. The water was cold and refreshing. After washing her face she unhooked the bucket, put it on the ground and sat besides it.

Leiah had no idea what she's going to say to Aela once she gets back. It wasn't about being with another woman. For Leiah it was about Aela specifically. She cared a lot of her but only as a friend, Leiah never saw Aela as a romantic interest. It could have been much easier to forget that incident and leave it for past but Leiah knew, that Aela enjoyed last night and she was worried for their friendship, if she tells Aela how she feels about their relationship. It was difficult choice for Leiah but she had to do it.

She stood up next to the well when inn door opened.

"Next time rent a room" someone shouted through the heavy fog. Leiah heard the door close and some footsteps coming closer to her.

When she saw a male figure with tall ears on top of it's head Leiah already knew who this is.

"Django what did you do now" she asked with a tiered face.

"Long story short" he took a deep breath "I was hiding from a big Nord who wanted a fist fight with me and passed out while she was looking for me"

"A woman? Don't tell me that the little kitty is scared of a true Nord woman"

"Ah bugger. You're never going to forget that, will you" he sighted.

"Not in a million years" Leiah laughed. "Anyway. I was just about to head back to Jorrvaskr and I need to talk about something with Aela... some privacy would be appreciated. Leiah said and handed Django her bucket. "Get yourself refreshed and meet me latter. I think I have a plan for our next move".

"Understood" the Khajit said as he hooked the bucket onto the rope.

* * *

Leiah silently opened the door to Aelas room and sneaked in when she saw her getting dressed next to the bed.

"Good morning sexy" Aela greeted her with a soft smile.

"Uhh... morning" It was much more awkward than Leiah though it would be. She at down on the chair. Aela saw her discomfort and also sat down on the bed.

"It's about the last night, isn't it" Aela pouted.

"Look Aela, I gonna say this out straight" Leiah felt relieved that she didn't have to start this topic herself. "...You have been a good friend to me and I'm thankful for all the support you gave me during the past few days but we shouldn't have gone this far. It was all my fault"

"It's not your fault Leiah, we were both drunk as hell and I understand how you feel about our relationship but is it really that bad to let ourselves loose sometimes" Aela said with a grin

"Stop grining, it's not funny Aela... are you sure you're okay with us just staying friends after this"

"I don't care what kind of relationship we're in as long as we can stay ourselves around each other nor I want to push you into anything. I really loved that last night though" Aela said. She had mixed feelings about what happened and didn't want to make things more complicated as they were. She had to make sure if this is what she really wants and of course if Leiah is fine with it.

"I'm glad we got this sorted out for now" Leiah felt relieved that Aela took this well, maybe she was wrong about her in the first place. If they're both okay with staying as they used to be it's time to tell her about their next plans Leiah thought.

"I'm getting a feeling that there is something else you want to tell me" Aela mused as she pulled on her iron boots.

"There is... I've come up with a plan. Remember the manor where I used to live" Leiah asked

"Of course, Jarl Locked the place down after you moved to Cyrodil and they lost track on Lydia"

"Locked down? But is there anyway I could gain access to our belongings that were left behind"

"Wait... you haven't been told about it?"

"Told about what" Leiah looked puzzled now.

"The manor. After your mother disappeared the manor was written to your name and rightfully belongs to you. You don't have to sneak in or anything, just tell the Jarl that you're back" Aela explained her.

Leiah had no idea that the manor was written to her name but she was glad that Lydia had thought ahead. "Well I guess I have a meeting with Jarl Balgruuf then" Leiah said after a pause.

"I'd love to come with you but I have some companion business to do. And don't you dare to leave Whiterun before I'm back"

"Will do" Leiah said and stood up. "Oh and one more thing Aela, what do you do around here to cure hangover" Leiah slid her hand through her hair.

Aela looked at her with a wry grin "We could continue where we left off last night"

"Nice try but the wolfish grin you gave me before going down, scarred me for life"

"Oh yeah ? Well flat girls have always been easy prey for me" Aela said and looked at Leiah with the same look she gave her previous night and Leiah punched her shoulder as they started laughing.

* * *

Leiah walked into the main hall of Dragonsreach castle. She slowly stepped up the stairs and went over to the fire pit. Jarls throne was empty and there were some people dining around her. A short bald man with a thick coat was running around the hall with papers in his hands. He spoke with various people and wrote something down every time he stopped to speak with someone. After a few moments he noticed Leiah standing in the middle of the room and he walked over to her.

"How may I help you, miss" he asked with a bow.

"I'm looking for Jarl Balgruuf the Greater" Leiah told him.

"Ahh, I'm afraid that Jarl Balgruuf is busy at the moment but may I hear what's troubling you" he gave Leiah a dry smile.

"My name is Leiah Galaviel and I'm here to claim the ownership of my families manor"

"Oh, lady Galaviel. It's pleasure to meet you" he offered Leiah his arm for handshake and Leiah accepted his gesture.

"There is no need to bother the Jarl with this kind business if the right person is standing right in front of you. My name is Proventus Avenicci and I'm the Jarls steward"

Leiah faked a yaw, she didn't care about the formalities. She just wanted the key and return to her old home. "Oh, I uhh... see that my lady has no time for a chat. I must ask you to wait here and I'll return to you in my earlier convenience.

Leiah nodded and sat down to the dining table in the left side of the hall. She crossed her legs and looked at the dragons skull above the Jarls throne. It was huge, all most half of her own size.

"Aela told me I can find you here" a voice behind her startled her and she jumped on the chair.

"Damn it Django, haven't I told you not to sneak up on me while I'm thinking".

"Sorry but I was totally not sneaking up on you" the Khajit sat down next to Leiah and leaned on the table. "So tell me about this plan of yours"

"The plan is simple. Once i'm done with this Avenicci fellow we have access to my old manor which now rightfully belongs to me. We go there and see what shape is it in and if we're lucky we can start living normal lives again" Leiah said as she watched the steward return from the corner of her eye.

Steward walked between Leiaj and Django without giving the cat any attention, then he placed a pot of ink on to the table. "Everything is prepared. Just write your initials here and I can hand you over the key. He dipped the quill into the ink pot and handed it over to Leiah. Who was reading the paper that was push in front of her.

"That's it ?" she asked after writing her name on the documents.

"Yes, you can do whatever you wish with the manor now"

"Thank you" Leiah said as she stood up, shook the Steward hand and started walking away with Django right behind him. The steward stood there and watch the two exit the castle and collected the items on the table.

"So when are we leaving Whiterun" Django asked, as they were walking around the market.

"In the evening. We're going to wait till Aela get's back" Leiah had found a jewelery stall and was browsing some necklaces.

"And what are we going to do till then" he asked.

"I don't know, go wonder around the city or something. Just please don't get drunk, okay" Leiah said as she was looking at the rings now.

"I'll just take a nap under the canal near the main gate"

When the morning was clowdy and somber the sun had come out by the noon and the chilly wind kept messing with Leiahs hair.


	8. Chapter 8

"Hey, Django! Get your furry little ass out from there" Leiah was leaning over the small water canal flowing under Whiteruns main gate and trying to wake up her friend.

"Hrmph, what is it now" he asked, sleepily looking at Leiah.

"Are you ready to leave? Aela will be here any second to send us off" Django dragged himself out from the small tunnel and looked at the setting sun. "It's already evening, maybe we should wait for morning" he said.

Aela had told her the same thing and she knew that traveling around Skyrim in dark is dangerous but she couldn't help it, she was too eager to see her home after five years.

"Django please, you know how important it is for..."

"Yea yea, I know. I was just screwing with you"

"Hey". Both of them turned around when they heard Aelas voice behind them. She was wearing a dress with diagonal cut, which left her right leg bare. Her hair was in a ponytail and she had her golden elven bow with her.

"What's with the fancy getup" Leiah asked her.

"Oh I just thought that it's a nice evening and I should wear something more comfortable" she said and adjusted the belt on the dress.

"I used to wear lot's of dresses in Imperial City and I can't call none of them comfortable"

"Depends, but let's get two of you on your way. I remember how you handled a bow when we were fighting that giant outside Whiterun and thought that I should give you a decent bow" she looked at her bow as she handed it over to Leiah. Even when it was made out from light materials, it was much heavier than Leiahs current wooden bow.

"You shouldn't have, I'm no marksman and my my current bow works great" Leiah said, she looked delighted from the gesture.

"Of course I had, you have talent, just make sure to stay alive... I'd like to have it back one day"

"Yeah, I just hope that I will be eaten by a bear along with this bow" she laughed and gave Aela a strong hug. As a companion Aela was remarkably strong and Leiah felt as if she wants to break her back. After Django had shook hands with Aela they exited the city gates. Aela stayed back and simply stood in the middle of the road, looking the gates close. Something was bothering her, ever sence they spoke with Leiah about the night they had spent, her words _'just friends'_ echoed her thoughts. She didn't want those feeling to be true because they would make things much harder for both of them. "Maybe that was the reason I agreed with you" Aela thought, she turned around and started walking back to Jorrvaskr.

* * *

Leiah and Django were walking up the hill, there wasn't much left to go. Sun had already set and it was dark but the trip had been uneventful so far. When they got up the hill, Leiah saw a weak light shining through the trees. "There it is, lets go" she cheered and started jogging towards the light.

The house looked just like when Leiah left, there was a lantern burning net to the main door. While Leiah searched for the key from her knapsack, Django noticed something. There was a small pool of blood, trailing off. He followed the trail around the corner and stumbled on two dead Whiterun guards. He whispered to Leiah and waved her over.

"What is... ooh"

"Don't touch the door, we'll try the windows" Django said.

They went to the other side of the house, where the kitchen was and broke the window. Once they were inside Leiah took Aelas bow from her back and Django pulled out his steel katana.

"Wait, you have no use of this in here" He whispered and handed Leiah his elven dagger. Leiah looked unsure when she accepted his weapon. The dagger would be useless for her once they get into a fight. Django moved towards the door and slowly pushed it open. The room was dark when Leiah entered the main hallway after Django.

Suddenly someone dropped from the second floors balcony and landed right on top of Django. The attacker pushed him of against the wall and burst art Leiah, who reacted quickly and pushed a random night stand in the attackers way. The mysterious figure tripped over the furniture and fell right on top of Leiah who had frozen from the contact. "This is it" she thought.

The strangers hood dropped as she tripped over to Leiah and the clouds moved away from the moon, which light shined through the window now. Without the hood, moonlight revealed their attackers face. It was her mothers housecarl.

"Lydia" Leiah gasped.

"Leiah! I'm so sorry, were you hurt" Lydia said as she quickly got off from her.

"Yeah, I uhh... think so" Leiah slowly stood up and throbbed the back of her head.

"So it's true, you're really back in Skyrim"

"I arrived few days ago. It's a long story but I will tell you everything latter"

"By the way, who is your friend" Lydia pointed at the body laying in the corner.

"Oh damn it, Django" she swore and rushed to him. "Looks like you knocked him unconscious" Leiah said after examining him.

"Wow, I didn't know that you two are still hanging around" Lyda brought few chairs and placed them at the table in the middle of the room. She lit the candle and they both sat down.

"He followed me to Cyrodil and said that you had helped him to find me"

"Yes, I remember that. He seemed to be quite angry at me for sending you there" Lydia looked troubled as she looked down to her feet. "Look... I hope you're not angry at me either. Sending you to Cyrodil was the only proper choice, after they blamed me in your mothers disappearance and placing a bounty on my head I've been hiding around the forests and living in caves" she raised her gaze to meet Leiahs "You were not supposed to live such a life with me" Lydias eyes started to fill with tears and Leiah wrapped her arms around her into a tight embrace.

"It's not your fault, I fully understand why you chose to do so. And I'm relieved to see you in one piece" After a long hug Leiah let Lydia go. Lydia took a letter from her pocket and handed it over to Leiah.

"There's an old alchemist living in the woods, we get along well and this morning when he came back from his ingredient gathering he told me that there were two shady persons talking with the guards near our manor" Leiah opened the letter but put it on the table and continued listening to Lydia. "When I came here to investigate I was discovered by the guards and only chance was to kill them. When I came inside there was this letter nailed on the door. I decided to stay a little longer and search for useful items when I heard you two coming, I thought you are renforcments for the guards, so I attacked you" She explained. "Go ahead, read it"

Leiah picked up the letter again, crossed her legs and moved the candle closer.

_Sweetest miss Galaviel,_

_We are well informed of your arrival to Skyrim and the most logical step for you is to come here. By now you have probably met a Nord male, named Ralof one way or another. We would like you to meet up with him and he will give you further instructions. Of course it's optional for you but the prize will be great._

_If you decide to pick up this quest, you'd also like to see the secret chamber in the basement of your manor._

_Sincerely, your new fan._

_P.S. Travel alone. _

Leiah put down the letter and looked at Lydia, who was waiting for her response. "How did they know I'm coming to Skyrim and how is Ralof connected to this" Leiah looked bothered of the information about her leaking fast.

"I don't know dear, even I didn't know of your arrival before I saw this letter. Which is even more interesting is that the letter mentions the secret room downstairs" Lydia said.

"Yes, isn't it about the time to tell me what's in there, it's driving me crazy. At someplace I was even having nightmares about that room"

"I'm sorry for your suffering but a month before your mother disappeared, she gave me the key to this room and told me to give it to you, once you're eighteen"

"Well I'm almost twenty, so I think I'm ready for it now" Leiah eagerly stood up and was waiting for Lydia to do the same. "Yes, I will show you what's inside but let's leave that for tomorrow. For now we should carry Django upstairs and get some rest ourselves"

"Argh... you're impossible, even the letter says that I should see what's inside and yet you want to put it on hold"

"The letter say that you should see what's inside if you decide to accept their quest. And patient sure isn't your virtue, you whine just like that small girl ten years ago" Lyda laughed and stood up from her chair.

"Oh shut up, I've grown" Leiah muttered as they were trying to pick up Django, who has been lying there at least for twenty minutes.

"Yeah, that's not what you chests says" Lydia smirked

"Oh fuck you Lydia, one more joke about my breast size and I'm going to cut someone" she said half jokingly.

"Language..."

Leiah sighted as they were walking up the stairs. Once Django was in quest room, Lydia went back to guard downstairs and Leiah went to her old room. She sat down to her bed and a small tear of happiness fell on her cheek, she was finally at home. She lay down onto the bed and looked at the dust, flying in the moonlight, which was coming from the window. She slowly fell a sleep after kicking off her boots.

* * *

**I really enjoyed writing the first part of this chapter. I find Aela giving Leiah her bow rather ironical, sence i always stole it as a first thing, when i reach Whiterun.**


	9. Chapter 9

Leiah woke up when she felt a pat on her shoulder.

"Hey wake up, we need to hunt for some food" a familiar voice said. She turned herself around in bed and looked out of the window. The sky was clowdy and the windows were wet from the rain. Then she glared at Lydia and decided to curl up and pull the blanket over her head.

"C'mon Leiah, we need to get some food and preferably be back by the time Django wakes up. He still doesn't know who attacked him and will probably panic when you can't be found anywhere"

"He is a cat... he can sleep through all day" Leiah murmured under the blanket. "Besides we can write a note"

"Then let's write him a note and get moving" Lydia said and pulled the blanket off of Leiah.

Leiah sat up on the bed and rubbed her eyes, after tiding her hair she started to look for her boots since the floor, along with the room was freezing. Last night Leiah fell a sleep fully clothed so after she had put on her cloak she looked ready to go.

"Alright, let's get moving" Lydia said and handed Leiah Aelas Elven bow. They went downstairs and Leiah opened the front door with her new key. When they stepped outside, the ground was covered with thick fog but the rain had stopped by now. When Lydia was walking towards the woods, Leiah noticed something on the dead guard behind the house. The arrows in the dead guards quiver were much more sharp and had a fine steel tip. She walked over and started to untangle the quiver.

"Are we done defiling the dead" Lydia gave Leiah a slight grin as she strapped the quiver onto her back"

"Can't wait to find some more" She answered sarcastically and gave her a smirk.

* * *

Leiah shivered as they walked through the fog, they moved in silence because they couldn't see far and didn't want to scare off any animals that might have been near them. They avoided stepping on the branches and made a stop every once in a while to hear if anything might be nearby, also Lydia had to watch behind her to see if Leiah is still there. She was surprised of how silently she could move and didn't attract any attention.

When they reached a small glade where the fog was less dense, Lydia raised her hand to stop Leiah. She pointed at a rabbit, which was sitting near a small pond and looking around. Leiah drew her bow and aimed at the creature, she felt sorry for it as she released her new steel arrow. The arrow pierced the rabbits lower half and killed it instantly.

"Wow! Nice shot, not sure if even I could have done it at this angle" Lydia praised Leiah. She went over to the target, tied up the rabbit by it's ears and threw it over her shoulder. "Looks like we got our breakfast" she said and gave Leiah an approving nod. Leiah put the bow on her back and sleepily followed Lydia.

* * *

It's been few hours after Leiah and Lydia returned from their hunting. Lydia was now preparing the rabbit on the fireplace and Leiah sat at the table behind her. She leaned back on the chair, put her legs on the table and crossed them. She yawned sand tretched her arms.

"How long till we can finally eat it... I'm starving" She complained.

"Shouldn't be long now" Lydia said as she turned the rabbit on the fire. They fell in silence once again and after few minutes Leiah picked up a topic.

"So is there any way I could convince the Jarl that you weren't the one who killed my mother"

"First of all we don't even know if she's dead and I think that it's been long enough, Jarl might have second thoughts about this case now"

"Yes but we need to make sure about it. If we fail to persuade him, he will suspect that I have been in contact with you" Leiah said.

Suddenly there was a lot of noise coming from the upstairs and someone seemed to be in a hurry. Django rushed down the stair with his katanas ready but when she saw the wo women sitting in the kitchen he calmed town and looked at them in awe. Leiah and Lydia started laughing at his reaction. The face on his face was priceless as he walked to the kitchen.

"Lydia, what the hell are you doing here" Django pulled out the chair and sat down.

"Long time no see huh... I got here just when someone was about to kill the both of you" Leiah snorted at the lie and Lydia tried to hide her smile aswell.

"Hmm... yes but I have a feeling that there is something more sinister at play here" Django said with a grin as he saw through Lydias lie. Lydia shrugged and gave him an innocent look.

"And what's with the god damn headache..." He now noticed a sweet scent in the air. He walked up to the fireplace and pointed at the rabbit.

"How long till this is ready" he insisted, pointing at the meat.

"I think you can look for some plates and we're ready to go" Lydia said and removed the rabbit from the fire.

* * *

"Tell me Leiah, why didn't you ever make such meals when I visited your place in Imperial City" Django pushed his plate away and rubbed his stomach.

"I think that's because you only visited me during midnights, when you had lost your house key in the bar" Leiah said with a full mouth. There was a moment of silence again, until Lydia finished eating.

"I think there is something you'd like to see now" she asked and leaned back.

"About a time Lydia, the tension was killing me" Leiah jumped off the chair and was ready to follow Lydia, who also stood up from the chair now. All three exited the kitchen and walked downstairs, to the basement. Lydia pulled out a key from her pocket and put it in. The door unlocked with a loud crack and the hinges whined as it was pushed open.

The room was cold and Leiah couldn't see anything because of the darkness. "Let's hope it's not a Daedra shrine" Django tried to crack a joke but everyone ignored him.

"Wait here" Lydia said as she walked into the room and started lighting the candles around the room. Every time Lydia lit a new candle, Leiah could see a figure in the middle of the room more and more clearly. After all the corners were lighted Leiah saw a mannequin standing before her. It was wearing snow-white outfit with leggins strapped to it. Between the leather bolsters there was cloth with beautiful patterns. It had black leather boots with metal plates protecting the front of the leg and a black hood along with the scarf covering most of the mannequins face.

Leiah seemed amazed as she walked around the mannequin and examined it. On the upper-back there were two blood-red stripes parting to both sides and ending near the chest. She pulled off the hood and touched the soft, silk scarf.

"Is it for... me" Leiah asked as she turned her gaze to Lydia.

"It belonged to your mother and she wanted you to have this one day. So I think the answer to your question is yes"

"Hey if you don't want this, I would be clad to claim it" Django said. After a small giggle from Lydia , she started to unstrap the armor and Leiah gave her a hand.

"I think you should try this on" Lydia said after handling the outfit to Leiah. She glared at Django who already knew what's up. "Yeah yeah, I'm going" he said and left the room, closing the door behind him.

Leiah undid her body straps and took off the rest of her traveling gear, then she picked up the leather cuirass and put it on.

"This fits perfectly" Leiah claimed after she had pulled up and strapped the leggins. She moved her hands and legs to make sure that she feels comfortable. She then changed her boots to the new ones which looked much more sturdier and tied the black scarf around her neck.

"You look just like her" Lydia said with a soft smile as she slid her hand over the armor.

"Did she used to wear this often" Leiah asked eventually, after few stretches to make the armor feel even more comfortable.

"Not really. She used to wear it to some... uh …." Lydia found herself at loss of words. She didn't want Leiah to know of her mothers true identity, just not yet. But there was no turning back anymore. "...quests" Lydia finished her sentence.

"Quests ?" Leiah seemed suspicious, "I don't believe she killed giants for the Jarl with this kind of armor. This fits for more stealthier tasks than that", she couldn't believe it, was her mother a ..."Thief" Leiah realised. "Was my mother a thief or... no, it can't be... an assassin ?" she glared at Lydia with a demanding look.

Lydia sighted and gestured Leiah to sit down at the bench. "She was proficient in both arts, yes" Lydia remarked. "But she wasn't just a regular assassin, nor was she a part of the Dark Brotherhood, even though she had close relations with their organization"

Lydia made a pause and took a deep breath. Leiah was looking at the ground and seemed puzzled. "Your mother was a political assassin and was mainly working together with the Empire"

"But I thought she was just a regular noble" Leiah said after gathering herself. The truth about her mother sure was a shock for her.

"Yes, she was just a regular noble from the outside and was highly respected in the Whiteruns hold"

"Okay, I can understand this but why did she want me to have this armor then" Leiah asked, looking at Lydia.

"She saw potential in you, the same potential that I noticed when we were hunting earlier today. You moved so silently that I had to check if you're still there" Lydia said with a small chuckle now. "That is why she was also training you with the bow and so on".

"But what if I don't want to become an assassin"?

"Then it's up to you, who you will become. Your mother wouldn't have never forced you into this" Lydia answered to Leiahs question.

"So what about this letter" Leiah asked after another long pause. "You said that the only ones who know about this room are you and my mother, if it wasn't you then my mother has to be mixed up in this somehow"

Lydia saw a fire burning in Leiahs eyes, "When she disappeared, she took a job to kill some important Thalmor military general. If she failed on the job and was killed I would already have heard of this via the Dark Brotherhood, because she mentioned something about meeting them before she left off, so she is probably still alive".

"From the looks of how those guards were killed, I'd say that this letter was from the brotherhood" Leiah noted, she seemed eager to find out about this mystery.

"You might be right but who's that Ralof they mentioned" Lydia asked her.

"He's a Stormcloak officer, only way this would make any sense is, if he's from the Dark Brotherhood or an Imperial spy"

"I'm inclined to think that it's the first one. Anyway, let's leave it for now, by the looks on your face it seems like you've already decided to take on this quest"

"Well if I have a chance to find out something about my mother I'm in" Leiah followed Lydia and stood up. She walked to the big cupboard on the other side of the room.

"Well if you're going to travel alone, I think you need to be geared a bit better" Lydia grinned widely and opened the doors.

Leiahs jaw dropped when she saw the armory in the closet. There was a black metal longbow with gorgeous carvings. Almost black, dark-blue colored crossbow with an odd symbol with a eagle and a moon on a decorated crossbow limb. She notice a gracious sword, she recognized it from some of the drawings she had seen. It was a daedric longsword, instead of the curved style of a regular daedric sword it was much thinner and longer with zigzags on the middle of the blade. A weak red light hued out between the ebony metal layers. There was also a beautiful dagger which material Leiah didn't recognize. It was razor sharp with a pearl pummel.

Leiah grabbed the dagger and placed it on the holster on her tight. Then she placed the longbow on her back and turned around "Let's find out what they want from me" she said with a grin and a shine in her eyes.

* * *

**WTF Leiah, don't use the console xD**

**Anyway, story will soon reach the flow of much bigger events and the second main character will also appear.**


	10. Chapter 10

**Since i had a free day, I wrote this chapter in advance. I doubt if I have time to write any new chapters before the weekend.**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

It's been almost a week since Leiah heard the truth about her mother and decided to accept the quest in the letter. She had practiced sword fighting with Django, Leiah was a quick learner but there was no time for her to master this art. Not panicking when someone came at her in close quarters combat, was enough for her at the moment. She had also done some shooting with the crossbow, she found at her mothers armory. Even when she favoured a bow, she found using a crossbow very easy and it was much faster when she had to deal with multiple targets.

Leiah had also been in Skyrim for almost two weeks now and with that time the summer had come closer and weather was much warmer. It was another beautiful morning with the sun shining brightly up in the sky, Leiah walked down to the kitchen and started eating a loaf of bread she found on the counter.

Today she was supposed to go on her way to Windhelm, where she expected to find Ralof. She had already packed her gear last night and was basically ready to go. Leiah wasn't sure if she's more exited about the journey or nervous. She had the feeling with butterflies in her stomach and felt the need to stretch her legs and shoulders all the time.

"Calm down now" Django chuckled as he followed her to the kitchen. He opened a bottle of mead and poured it into the tankard.

"Starting early, are we" Leiah asked him with a smug look.

"At least I don't jump out of my skin for a simple journey to Windhelm"

"Off with that, I'll go check on Lydia" she said and walked past Django, towards the main hall.

Lydia was working in the garden, she decided to rebuild it on the other side of the house and was busy with loosening the soil. "Finally you found something practical to do, huh" Leiah leaned on the wall and looked at Lydias handwork.

"Back in the days, when we weren't killing bears and trolls. I loved managing the garden and taking care of the crops. But more importantly, do you feel ready for the trip" Lydia stood up and wiped the sweat from her forehead.

"I'm really exited about this but yes, I'm ready"

"That's good to hear. I think you should be on your way as early as possible" Lydia said, she walked over to Leiah and put down her hoe. "Go get yourself geared. We'll send you off"

Leiah went to her room to put on the new gear. She felt as if something is missing so she added her body straps from her old outfit, they was especially useful when she wanted to attach her crossbow on her back. She also added her shorts on top of the leggins but they didn't reach to cover any of the beautiful patterns on the cloth of the leggins.

She found herself become more and more proficient with the crossbow so she decided to take it, instead of the bow. Along with the crossbow she holstered her dagger and pulled the knapsack with some potions in it over her shoulder. She was now fully ready and went down the stairs to see Django and Lydia waiting for her at the door.

"Stay safe" Lydia said seriously and hugged Leiah gently.

"Don't worry, I will"

"And don't come back unless you have some bear skins to show off" Django said with a smirk.

"I'd rather skin a cat but I'll leave that for after I'm back" Leiah smiled and embraced her friend.

She waved back to them once she was away from the manor and on the road toward Whiterun. As they waved back to her, she saw Lydia saying something to Django.

"Go after her but don't be detected" She whispered and Django nodded. He believed that she can handle herself but it was always better to play it safe.

* * *

Leiah pulled her scarf higher to cover her face from the cold wind. The blizzard got worse with every minute as she was walking through the mountain range. She had decided to take a shortcut through the valley at the foot of the throat of the world.

Even though she had made some great progress by the afternoon she was now freezing in the cold snowy valley between the mountains. She saw an opening between the rocks. She needed to find a cover fast and it was her chance, _Windhelm can wait _she thought. Leiah pressed herself further until she reached more spacious tunnel. She felt relief from the wind, which could still be heard howling outside.

Leiah walked deeper into the cave, the walls were covered with thin ice and the floor was snowy, it was still chilly there. She stopped when she saw a light beaming from a larger complex in front of her, she sneaked closer and heard some voices coming inside. So far she had only encountered two wolves who she took down without them noticing her but she didn't want to kill innocent just to be cautious. Leiah took a peek behind the rock and saw a male and a female figure standing in front of a large door.

"It's freezing here and it's already been a full day since they sent us some fresh blood" the female voice complained.

"Once we're out from here, the master said that we can have as much of blood as we want" the male assured her and sat down next to the door.

_It can't be, it's a vampire cave _Leiah thought, she knew that if she want's to stay here, the vampires had to be eliminated. She slowly grabbed her crossbow from her back. It was already loaded with a bolt and she aimed at the female vampire who was pacing around the door entrance. Leiah waited till she was about to walk past the male vampire and took the shot. In Cyrodil she had heard stories that only piercering the vampires heart can kill it. The arrow wnt right through her heart with such force that she fell over her sitting companion.

By the time the other vampire realised what had happened Leiah had already reloaded another bolt and aimed it at the second target. Without much effort the two vampires were lying on the floor dead. She loaded her crossbow again and walked up to them. She looked at the female vampires face, it pale as snow and her red eyes stared at the ceiling.

Suddenly Leiah heard a growl coming behind her. She Carefully turned around and saw a black hound snarling to her. It had already taken it's attack stance and started to run at her when she turned around.

Leiah quickly punched the dog with her crossbow limb and it fell back on the ground, she aimed her crossbow at it and took the shot, the hound collapsed into a pile of ash. After reloading her crossbow again she scanned her surrounding for any more dangers. When she was sure that no one else was around she sat down on a rock and took a breath. She could understand that the vampires like living in the caves but the demon dogs? That was something she hadn't expected to see. While deep in her thoughts she heard a scream coming behind the doors, she jumped on her feet and rushed to the door and slowly opened it to take a peek.

She saw a draugur sitting on a womans chest, who was struggling, not to have her throat cut. Two other vampires rushed to her aid and killed the draugur. Leiah closed the door and waited for the voices to fade and when she opened the door again she saw a single vampire standing in the maze of tunnels. She shot through his heart from behind and moved deeper into the cave, hiding herself in the shadows.

* * *

After clearing few more rooms, Leiah watched the giant frostbite spider being killed by the male vampire. When he pulled out his sword from the creature and turned around, Leiah saw fear in his red eyes. He was looking at Leiah who released the trigger just as he turned around. After the master vampire was taken care of she pulled away the spider which was surprisingly light for it's size and opened a wooden door behind it.

The door lead to a enormous underground room. She was at the small balcony, and looked down to the larger complex. Further away she saw arches around a circle. There were also some skeletons and four humanoid creatures walking around the circle. She took a position in the dark corner and readied her crossbow. She watched the group walk around the shrine or what ever that was and moving the pillars.

After a eyeing her enemy for a while she recognised the two vampires who had identical armors just like the others she killed before. She waited the right moment when others weren't looking and shot the male vampire, the others didn't notice him being shot until Leiah had reloaded her crossbow again and killed off the other vampire. When the female vampire dropped on the floor the two skeletons collapsed into ash piles.

There were two men left, they didn't look like vampires from far and they were mindlessly walking around. Leiah shot them one after another and climbed down to the path that was leading towards the shrine.

She noticed a pattern on the floor and that the pillars were in those lines, after she moved one of the pillars, a purple flame burst out from it. She noticed the pattern and did the same to the rest. After all the pillars were burning, the lines on the ground also started to hue the same purple light.

Another stone pillar rose into the middle of the room and Leiah walked closer. Again her curiosity got better of her and she decided to press the button on top of the pillar that seemed to be a trigger for some kind of a mechanism.

Just as she placed her arm on the button, she felt a sharp pain in her arm. A spear coming from the pillar pierced her palm and was pulled back in. Leiah screamed in agonizing pain and stepped back when her hand was released. She dropped on the stone stairs and cloaked her other arm into healing magic.

While Leiah was nursing her wound, she didn't notice a larger coffin being raised where the deadly pillar was. When the pain from her wound was gone she was able to focus on what's happening before her. She heard stones grinding and after the noise stopped there was a loud thump. A woman stumbled out from the coffin and seemed dazed. But after few second of gathering herself, she stormed at the dead man near the coffin and buried her face into it's neck.

Leiah watched the stranger suck it's blood and tear it's victims throat out with her fangs. Fear took her but she felt paralyzed when the vampire finished with the poor man and turned around to Leiah, who was holding her wound. Leiah looked at the female vampire underneath her hood. Despise her deadly nature she looked gorgeous, her black hair were spun around her head and fell down to her shoulders from behind. Her face was pale but there was something different about her from the other vampires. Instead of red irises, she looked at Leiah with her burning-orange eyes.

She wiped the blood from her face with sleeve and walked closer to Leiah, who put her hand on the dagger. The vampire had a wicked smile on her face.

"No need to be afraid of me" She said with a soft, almost soothing voice. "I already feed my thirst as you saw" She crouched next to Leiah and wanted to see her hand. Leiah didn't trust her the slightest but she didn't seem to want to attack her... for now. She showed the vampire her palm, she cast another restoration spell and the warm light caressed Leiahs wound.

"My name is Serana" the vampire said eventually, "Thank you for releasing me from my slumber"

"L... Leiah" she muttered.

After few minutes Leiah felt her arm being much better, she was able to move her fingers a little now.

Leiah removed her hood and lowered her scarf and took a deep breath after the adrenaline rush started to wear off. "Why didn't you attack me just like you did the dead guy on the floor" Leiah asked her.

"When I woke up, my thirst was uncontrollable. I sensed the warm blood still flowing in his body and went for it. If it had been you standing there, you would have had much more wounds than this" Serana answered with a warm smile. "It would have been a real waste to tear up your pretty face"

Leiah felt her cheeks warm up from the blush and pulled up her scarf again. She removed her hand from Seranas and wrapped it in a bandage, which she dug out from her knapsack. "Thanks but that's good enough for now"

"As you wish" Serana said, "Anyway, I guess that the both of us want to get out from this cave now"

"That would be great, yes" Leiah said and tested if she can still shoot her crossbow.

"From the bodies lying around I guess you can handle yourself well. It's time to see if I can also fight after years of being trapped there"

"With pleasure" Leiah smirked and followed Serana. She still didn't trust the vampire but her words seemed sincere.


End file.
